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America’s COVID Stronghold, New York City to Let Go of Vaccine Mandates

Newsweek reported:

New Yorkers will most likely be adjusting to a new normal soon as the city plans to drop mask mandates and proof of vaccination in the next few weeks, according to Mayor Eric Adams. As total cases around the U.S. begin to decrease, Mayor Adams announced his intention to reverse the city’s “Key2NYC” policy, mandating masks and proof of vaccination in most public spaces.

The city was the first in the U.S. to implement vaccination requirements in public places, an effort enforced in August 2021 as the city was seeing a daily average case count of nearly 2,000. New Yorkers have since needed to show proof of vaccination in order to enter restaurants, bars, nightclubs, coffee shops and fitness centers.

“At the end of this week, we will evaluate the numbers and make a final announcement on Friday. If we see no unforeseen spikes and our numbers continue to show a low level of risk, New York City will remove the indoor mask mandate for public school children, effective next Monday, Mar. 7,” the mayor said in a statement.

Montana AG Launches Investigation Into TikTok for Allegedly Serving Harmful Content to Children

Fox Business reported:

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has started a comprehensive investigation into TikTok for allegedly serving harmful content to children and for publicly misrepresenting the “dangers” of its social media platform.

Knudsen launched the investigation to look into whether TikTok has violated Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 by intentionally distributing a dangerous product without adequate warning to consumers and by publicly misrepresenting the dangers its product poses to consumers.

His office sent TikTok, by certified mail, a 44-page document announcing the start of its investigation and listing examples in the public record of “evidence” of violations to Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, including examples of TikTok users getting dangerous content on sex, drugs and eating disorders and some users getting killed or injured while replicating TikTok challenges.

People’s Convoy Is Gathering Support as It Heads Toward Washington: Poll

Newsweek reported:

A U.S. version of Canada’s so-called Freedom Convoy, the People’s Convoy, is reportedly off to a slow start, but a poll set for release today says that, should a meaningful number of truckers show up near Washington, DC, in the coming days to protest two years of COVID restrictions, they will have the support of the majority of Republicans and independents in the country.

The poll, conducted by Trafalgar Group, indicates that 50.3% of adult Americans are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to support the U.S. demonstration of truckers, a few of whom departed last week from various parts of the country for an expected 11-day trek to the nation’s capital. The support, however, breaks down largely along party lines.

An estimated two dozen convoys are now, or soon will be, headed for Washington, where they will be greeted by about 700 unarmed troops from the National Guard who are stationed there until Mar. 7. Many truckers, however, have told media outlets that they’ll avoid confrontation by remaining on the outskirts of the city.

Capitol Fencing Reinstalled Ahead of State of the Union, Possible ‘Freedom Convoy’ Spinoffs

The Washington Post reported:

Fencing around the U.S. Capitol is being reinstalled in advance of Tuesday’s State of the Union address, authorities announced Sunday in a statement that also referred to potential protests in the city over the next two weeks.

The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the Capitol Police, who have long been preparing for the possible arrival of trucks inspired by the “Freedom Convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks to protest vaccine mandates.

Capitol Leaders Rescind Mask Mandate Ahead of State of the Union

Politico reported:

Hill leaders are retiring their workplace masking policies, making masks optional throughout the Capitol complex ahead of Congress’ return to Washington this week and Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

The Office of the Attending Physician has adopted the CDC’s new model for monitoring community levels and is adapting to the “green” status of the Washington, DC, region, the Capitol’s Attending Physician Dr. Brian P. Monahan said, meaning it’s considered a low transmission area.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi controls masking rules on the House floor, but she has largely deferred to Monahan’s recommendations. The Senate never adopted mask mandates, citing high vaccination rates, though individual offices set their own policies.

According to the Office of the Attending Physician, 89% of coronavirus infections at the Capitol in the last two weeks occurred in vaccinated individuals. About 63% of cases were symptomatic, with 37% detected in asymptomatic employees.

A Case for (Some) Continued Masking

Axios reported:

Public health experts are trying to make the case for keeping masks on even though the CDC no longer recommends them in many public places.

The CDC announced Friday it created new metrics for determining when people should use masks and take other COVID precautions. Overall, the CDC now recommends universal masking for less than a third of the U.S. population, although the final call still rests at the local level, Axios’ Caitlin Owens reported.

Masks will even be optional at President Biden‘s State of the Union address tomorrow after Congress lifted its mask mandate following the CDC guidance, the Associated Press reported.

California to Lift School Mask Mandate, Updates Guidance for Others

Newsweek reported:

California announced on Monday that schools and childcare facilities will no longer require children to wear masks, and the state updated COVID-19 guidelines as cases begin to subside.

California officials say children will no longer have to wear masks in classrooms after Mar. 11. New guidelines also say people who are unvaccinated would no longer need to wear masks in most indoor settings starting Tuesday although it is strongly recommended, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Oregon and Washington state joined California Monday in adjusting their COVID-19 guidelines. Both states will be lifting their mask mandates for students in K-12 starting Mar. 12.

Boston Health Officials to Consider Ending Mask Mandates

Associated Press reported:

Public health officials in Boston are weighing lifting the city’s facemask requirement for schools and businesses.

The city’s Public Health Commission will meet Tuesday to discuss the matter. It comes the day after students and staff at Massachusetts public schools are officially not required to wear face coverings indoors. Gov. Charlie Baker announced earlier this month that the statewide mandate for schools would end Feb. 28.

Tuesday’s discussion also comes as the federal Centers for Disease Control eased its coronavirus guidelines on Friday, determining that most Americans live in places where they can safely dispense with wearing masks. The agency is still advising people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high.

Amazon Makes Masks Optional for U.S. Warehouse Workers

CNBC reported:

Amazon is rolling back its mask requirement for warehouse workers as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop nationwide.

Starting Tuesday, face masks will be optional for workers across all U.S. operations facilities, regardless of their vaccination status, unless mandated by state or local law, according to a notice Amazon sent to workers Sunday that was viewed by CNBC.

Europe’s Travel Rules Are Dropping as Fast as Its COVID Cases

CNBC reported:

Travel restrictions are quickly disappearing in Europe, with new announcements coming by the week — and, more recently, by the day.

Changes to eliminate COVID-related travel rules gained momentum in January, as a wave of Omicron-related infections engulfed the continent.

On Feb. 22, the Council recommended member nations open more broadly to travelers from outside of the EU as well — with the caveat that they be vaccinated or have recently recovered. The recommendation did not include a provision to allow outsiders in with only negative COVID test results, however.

Vaccine Passports: Ditching It, Keeping It — or Requiring 3 Doses

CBC reported:

The Ontario government recently announced businesses will no longer have to seek proof of vaccination from their customers at the door as of Tuesday, Mar. 1, ending a system that’s been in place since last fall.

Businesses are now left to make “a tough call” on whether to keep the practice alive, said Dr. Robert Cushman, the acting medical officer of health in Renfrew County.

Before the Ontario government announced it was phasing out vaccine passports, some questioned the system’s efficacy, given it was predicated on two doses and some double-vaccinated people were still getting infected during the Omicron surge.

The Data Game: What Amazon Knows About You and How to Stop It

The Guardian reported:

From selling books out of Jeff Bezos’s garage to a global conglomerate with a yearly revenue topping $400 billion (£290bn), much of the monstrous growth of Amazon has been fueled by its customers’ data. Continuous analysis of customer data determines, among other things, prices, suggested purchases and what profitable own-label products Amazon chooses to produce. The 200 million users who are Amazon Prime members are not only the corporation’s most valuable customers but also their richest source of user data.

Not everyone is happy about this level of surveillance. Those who have requested their data from Amazon are astonished by the vast amounts of information they are sent, including audio files from each time they speak to the company’s voice assistant, Alexa.

Employees Are Facing More Online Surveillance Than Ever

TechRadar reported:

The rate of employee surveillance is getting out of hand after rising during the pandemic, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned.

The organization has published a report in which it claims almost two-thirds (60%) of employees reported being under some form of technological surveillance and monitoring, up from 53% last year. Furthermore, 3 in 10 survey respondents said surveillance increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technological surveillance and monitoring is described as businesses having access to emails, files, and webcams installed on work computers, as well as being able to record typing patterns and keystrokes, telephone calls, as well as other “traceable movements.”

Google, Facebook Work to Stop Spread of Russian Anti-Ukraine Disinformation With New Changes

CNBC reported:

U.S. tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter have started to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by attempting to stop the spread of misinformation and demonetizing ads that run on Russian state media accounts.

Meta, which owns the global social media giant Facebook, said Monday it removed a network run by people in Russia and Ukraine that “ran a handful of websites masquerading as independent news outlets, publishing claims about the West betraying Ukraine and Ukraine being a failed state.”

Over the weekend, Facebook said it demonetized Russian state media accounts and began to add new safety features to Ukrainian accounts, like the option to lock a user profile or hide a friend’s list.

Google-owned YouTube on Saturday said it would also prevent some Russian companies, including state-run news company RT, from making money on the videos they post to YouTube. It will also restrict access to RT and a number of other channels in Ukraine.